Grain cleaning apparatus



Oct. 17, 1933. J. E. JOHNSON GRAIN CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 17, 1933. J. E. JOHNSON 1,931,074

GRAIN CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 17, 1933. J. E. JOHNSON 1,931,074

GRAIN CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1956 e Sheets-Sheet s Filed Feb. 28, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 17, 1933. J. E. JOHNSON GRAIN CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 17, 1933. J JQHNSQN 1,931,074

GRAIN CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1930 s Sheets-Sheet s the drums removed;

Patented Oct. 17,1933

Tss

UNITED, sTA

1,931,074 GRAIN CLEANING APPARATUS John Edward Johnson, Chicago, Ill. Application February 28, 1930. 7 Serial No. 432,049

6 Claims.

My invention relates to grain cleaners and more particularly to grain cleaners adapted to remove both the finer and larger particles from wheat grains and the like.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a novel arrangement of rotary drum screens by means of which a high output capacity may be obtained upon a "machine occupying relatively small space.

It is also a purpose of this invention to provide in a machine of this character a novel means for transporting the grain through the machine as it is being cleaned.

My invention also contemplates as one of its objects the provision of a novel screen element for separating the wheat from the larger grains such as oats, barley, etc.

Another distinct object of this invention isto provide in a system of this character novel means for maintaining the parts in proper position to continue to separate the grain even though the machine may tip from side to side as would occur if this machine were mounted on a grain thrashing device such as a combined harvester.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a machine of this character a novel driving means for driving the drum screens at the proper speed relative to each other. I

Other and more particular objects and. advantages of the invention will appear as the description proceeds in connection .with the accompanying drawings wherein the preferred form of the device is illustrated. ;It is obvious, however, that various minor modifications may be made from the exact details shown and described without departing fromthe scope of the invention as is defined by the accompanying claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through the machine; I

Fig. 2 is a reduced side view of the machine;

Fig. 3 is an end view showing the right hand end of the machine as it stands in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig.5 is a section on the line 5--5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section illustrating the appearance of the front end of the machine with Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken centrally through the machine with the screens and certain other parts left out for the sake of cleamess in illustrating the driving connections for th various elements of the machine; r

Fig. 8 is a detailed view partly in section 0 one of the receiving troughs of the machine;

Fig. 9 is an end view of the left hand end of the trough shown in Fig. 8;

Figs." 10 and 11 are detailsof one formof screen which are used for the outer drum;

Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate the form of screen in used forlthe inner drum;

Figs. 14 and 15 illustrate a slightly different form of screen which I use alternately with the type'shown in Figs. 10 and 11.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the machine consists essentially. of a grain inlet which is adapted, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3, to discharge the grain into the interior of an inner drum 21 which drum has an interior surface pocketed as shown by the screen illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13 with amultitude of small round pockets that are of'sufficient depth and size to receive and retain small seeds suchas weed seeds, cookie, and broken wheat grains. This drum 21 is, as shown clearlyvbyFig. 1, conical in longitudinal section, gradually increasing in diameter from the grain inlet end to the outlet endthereof at22.

Thus it will be seenthat'if this drum is rotated continuously,there will be a tendency, due to the slope of the drum, for the grain to move from V right to left in the drum 21; andyas it is moving, the smaller seeds and particles will be caught inthe small pockets and carriedupwardly by the drum and dropped into the trough-like receptacle 23 which extends longitudinally of "said drum throughout substantially its entire length. This receptacle is so mounted within the drum 21 as to normally retain itself in theposition shown in Fig. 4 without rotation. It is, however, I pivoted, as may be seen by an inspection of Figs. 1 and '7, by means of the tubular "extension 24; the flange 25.keyed to collar 26so as to be ad-. justable around the main shaft 27,-and inorder to hold this trough in proper adjusted position there is provided exteriorly' of the main casing of the machine the depending arm 28 which is fixed to the collar 26 and which carries a weight 29 so positioned as to maintainthetrough 23 in proper position to receive the small particles as they drop out of the pockets in the drum 21. The weight 29 is-as shown in Fig. 3-adjustable on the arm 28 so' 'that the position of the trough 23 may be adjusted toobtain the best results.

Within the trough 23 there is a screwconveyor 30 which is rotated by means of the shaft 27 so as to move the fine particles from left to right as shown in Fig. l and discharge them into the outlet conduit 31. The normal'sized wheat grains together with the larger particles or grains such as oats, barley, and short straws will of course not be picked up by the pockets in the drum 2i and will move to the left hand end of this drum Where they will encounter the spiral barrier 32 which to a certain extent causes them to bank up within the drum 21 and permits their discharge only as fast as the spiral barrier 32 cuts off at each rotation a certain quantity'thereof. The grain as discharged then falls into an outer drum .33 which rotates in the same direction as drum 21 but of a slightly different speed, preferably about threerevolutions for four revolutions of the inner drum 21 so as to be properly loaded for its greater screening surface or the amount of grain handled in the drum 21.

Drum 33, it will be noted, also is conical in longitudinal section but is reversed end for. end

with respect to drum 21 so that its larger end is at the smaller end of drum 21, and its smaller end is at larger or discharge end of the drum 21. This drum 33 may be equipped with either of the type ofpocket shown in Figs. 10 and 11 or that shown in Figs. 14 and 15. I prefer, however, to use that shown in Figs. 14 and 15 and to arrange the pockets so that the rows thereof extend spirally. around the drum so that the longitudinal of the pocket lies neither in a horizontal plane nor at right angles to the axis of the drum. I find that setting the pockets diagonally with respect to the direction of rotation of the drum makes for more effective elimination of the larger particles from the wheat grains. 7

The'drum 33 will, of course, move the grain from left. to right as shown in Fig. 1. as it rotates, and, as the grain moves along, the wheat grains being. shorter will drop into the pockets in the screenv hile the larger particles such as oats, barley, and straw cannot become lodged in these pockets and will not be carried upwardly by the drum a sufficient length to enable them to drop into the trough-like receptacle 34 which is positioned in between the two drums and which has an edge at 35 adapted to receive wheat grains as they pass upwardly past the center line of the drum 33 and tip out of the pockets on the interior of this drum;

This trough 3 lhas-as shown best byFigs. l, 8, and 9a hood 36 at the left hand end as shown in Fig. 1 which receives any grains that are picked up by the pockets atthis end of the drum .33 and returns it back to this drum in order to prevent the grain from getting downinto the driving mechanism or tending'to clogv the outlet of drum Zl. Throughout the rest of its length, however, trough 35 will receive the wheat grains picked up by the drum 33 as the grains move from left to right in this drum so that by the time the right hand end of drum 33 is reached substantially all of the wheat grains will be removed and only the larger particles will remain in the outer drum. These larger particles pass over the spiral barrier 37 and are discharged into the outlet conduit 38. .The wheat grains in the meantime are moved along frcmle'ft to right in the trough 3% by means of a novel conveyor consisting ofa spiral strip 39 wound on edge about the support ing rods 40 which are carried on the end frames of the drum 21 so as to rotate therewith. The grain moved by the strip 39 in this fashion is discharged .as clean wheat through the outlet conduit 41.

In order to maintain the interior of they drums clean, I preferably provide rotary brushes such as 42 and 43 carried by the troughs 23 and, 34,

respectively, and driven by means of sprockets chains 4a and 45 from the drum rotating mechanism so as to rotate in a direction'to sweep the inner surfaces of the drums as'they pass over the brushes. The shafts for these brushes are mounted in suitable oilless bearings such as indicated at 46 and 47 so that they require no oiling or outside attention. The drums are covered by means of a housing consisting of the end ried by the end piece 49. The outer drum is sup-.

ported by means of suitable rollers and 61 which are carried by suitable brackets such as indicated at 62 in Fig. 1 consisting of a pair of semi-annular rings mounted on the casing member 51. Suitable track such as 63 carried by the drum 33 cooperates with therollers 60 and 61 for this purpose. At the opposite end of the drum the end piece 64 thereof is secured to a flange 65 carried by the sleeve 66 rotatably mountedby means of suitable roller bearings such as indicated by 67 upon the main drive shaft 27. This sleeve 65 carried at its outer end a sprocket wheel 68 which connects, by means ofthe sprocket chain 69 to an auxiliary shaft '70 driving by means of the sprocket chain 71 and sprocket wheel '72, the main shaft 27 at a speed which will give the outer drum a somewhat lower speed than the inner drum, namely about three revolutions of the outer drum to four revolutions of the main shaft 27 and the inner drum.

"Power is applied to the sleeve 66 from a motor or other suitable power device by means of the shaft 73 entering a gear housing 74 at the side and having a worm 75 which engagesa worm gear 76 keyed to the sleeve 66.- The housing 74 is, as clearly shown in Fig. 7, supported by means'of the angle iron 7'7 at the end of the outer casing remote from the inlet 20.

Referring now to the screen shown in Figs. 10 and 11, this screen when used makes up the outer drum and is so mounted as to extend around the outer drum in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 11 so that when it is rotated the pockets at 78 have their advancing edges sloped as indicated-at '79 and have a rounded grain receiving portion at 80 in which a grain of wheat such as indicated at 81 may rest. The length of these pockets is such as to exclude the longer grains such as barley and oats from falling down within the pocket, and

in this way they serve. effectively to separate out the wheat grains fromthe longer particles.

The screen shown in Figs. 14 and 15 may be arranged sothat the longitudinal axis of the pockets 82 will extend directly around the drum although it is preferable to arrange them with the axis on a spiral as has been hereinbefore mentioned, preferably at about 45 degrees. I find that by arranging these elongated pockets in such fashion it is practically impossible for the long grains to become lodgedtherein even if one end of the long grains happens to fall in the pockets as it will roll out before the pocket moves very far upwardly as the drum rotates. However, a wheat grain, due to the fact that it falls completely down into the pocket will not be tipped out in any such fashion and will be carried up by the drum until it is on a line with the horizontal axis of the drum so that when it tips out it will fall into the trough 34.

I have already described the manner in which the inner trough 23 is adjusted by means of the weight 29, and I also provide a similar means whereby the outer drum is automatically retained in horizontal position even though the machine itself may not be set level. This is accomplished by means of a weight 83 carried on the ring 84 which serves to support the right hand end of .the trough 34, this ring 84 being supported in turn by track 85 riding on rollers 86 and 87 which are also carried by bracket 59. The weight 83 will, of course, tend to bring the trough 34 into the same position at all times irrespective of whether the machine is level or not. This weight is preferably slotted as shown at 88 and is secured to the ring 84 by means of suitable adjusting bolts so that its position may be changed to obtain the most eflicient setting for the trough 34.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of this machine will be clear to those skilled in this art and the advantages thereof readily apparent.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a grain cleaner, a grain inlet, a, conical drum receiving the grain from said inlet and having means for removing the fine seeds and broken grains from the whole wheat grains, a trough like receptacle within said drum receiving the fine seeds and broken grains, an outer conical drum enclosing said first named drum and inverted end for end with respect thereto, said outer drum receiving the grain directly fromsaid inner drum after it has traversed the inner drum, a trough like receptacle intermediate said drums, said outer drum having means for separating the whole wheat grains from larger particles such as oats and short straws and depositing them in said receptacle.

2. A grain cleaner having an inner rotatable conical drum separator, an inlet spout delivering grain directly to the small end of said inner drum, an outer rotatable drum separator receiving grain from said inner drum, and grain receiving troughs within said separators the inner trough being pivoted on its longitudinal axis and having an extension beyond the grain receiving end of the inner drum, and a stationary outlet spout for said trough provided with a sleeve in which said trough extension is pivoted.

3. A grain cleaner having an inner rotatable drum separator, feeding means for supplying th grain to be cleaned to the small end thereof, an outer rotatable drum screen receiving oversize material directly from said inner drum, said drum separators being nested and conical, and the large end of said inner drum being at the small end of the outer drum, a stationary grain receiving trough between said drums, a stationary trough directly receiving screened material from the inner drum, and means rotating with said inner drum for moving the grain towardone end of said first named trough, said means comprising a spiral strip wound about the inner drum structure.

4 A grain cleaner comprising a pair of rotating conical drum separators nested one inside the other with their ends relatively reversed, a grain inlet to the small end of the inner one of said separators, means for moving the grain from the inlet toward the other end of said inner separator and discharging it directly into the other separator, a stationary trough directly receiving screened material from the inner separator, and

said other separator being adapted to move the grain back'to the inlet end of the cleaner.

5. A grain cleaner comprising a pair of conical drum separators nested one inside the other with their ends relatively reversed, a grain inlet to the small end of the inner one of said separators, means for moving the grain from the inlet toward the other end of said inner separator, and discharging it into the other separator, a stationary trough directly receiving screened material from the inner separator, and said other separator being adapted to move the grain back to the inlet end of the cleaner, a stationary grain receiving trough intermediate said separators, and means carried by the inner drum for moving the grain lengthwise of said trough.

6. A grain cleaner having outer and inner cona main shaft fixed to the inner drum, a sleeve,

rotatable on said main shaft, and connected to a power source, said outer drum being rotatable on said'main shaft, driving means including an aux iliary shaft for driving said outer drum from said sleeve, and means. connecting said main shaft i with said auxiliary shaftfor rotatingsaid inner drum at a different speed to that of the outer drum.

JOHN EDWARD JOHNSON. 

